Mountaineer but not a vogelzang?

[Xtrl9]

Hey y'all, I have a bunch of questions about getting some more efficient heating and safety out of my wood burner in the basement.

For starters I don't know what it is but its roughly 22" inches of loadable space. Google just comes up with the vogelzang.



This is the enclosure right under my intake duct for my heat pump. But there is a pretty big gap between the top and this...


I feel like something should be there and think that's what the previous owner was doing with the galvanized pipe.

My final questions for starters are:
1. Is stacking wood on the bottom of the stove fine vs using a riser to get airflow under the wood?

2. My damper is a manual one in some old single wall behind the cinderblock enclosure, other than increased burn time what's the deal with a damper?

 

[begreen]

Just in case it was not determined on purchase inspection, that is an illegal installation.

 

[Xtrl9]

Just in case it was not determined on purchase inspection, that is an illegal installation.

That was not determined. Illegal sounds uhh bad. Is that something I can fix or no?

 

[begreen]

This is against mechanical code. The stove was not designed or tested to supply a heating system via the ducting. Also, the return air intake must be at least 10 ft away from the stove.